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Comments

Letter 3T1L

[(Anonymous)]

Post 3 letters and then maybe your own and coalies will give their critique.

Doesn't have to be themed but theme it if you want!

Re: Letter 3T1L - Mary Renault book letters

[(Anonymous)]

https://fawatson.dreamwidth.org/43883.html

https://tillwehavefaces.dreamwidth.org/340.html

https://momentum.dreamwidth.org/3678.html

Re: Letter 3T1L - Mary Renault book letters

[(Anonymous)]

No knowledge of the fandoms and have never really known of the *watson drama, so I come with a clean slate.

fawatson - I like the split between optional details and possible ideas so that I know what's in the signup versus what's new to me as an assigned writer. Didn't realise there was more promo stuff at the bottom until I scrolled, though. That said the "and my own stories" section about "what kind of things I might like to receive" made me chuckle.

tillwehavefaces - aaaargh changing font types and sizes in paragraphs noooooo. Also this makes 2/2 where the general likes and stuff are at the bottom with no indication at the top of the letter that they're there. I might have not scrolled! The letter is pretty long with a lot of chattiness which would be good for an assigned writer but I'm glaze-eyeing as a random reviewer, so all I can say is please CHOOSE between capitalisation and non-capitalisation at the start of lists, I'm getting a little motion sick...

momentum/deliarium - well formatted and inoffensive in every way to me as a random reader. I like the little blurbs about the canon - lets me have the tl;dr without going full fandom promo! I also like the generous bullet point prompts.

Re: Letter 3T1L - Mary Renault book letters

[(Anonymous)]

Is it just me, or is the middle one slightly wanky?

Re: Letter 3T1L - Mary Renault book letters

[(Anonymous)]

It's Renault fandom, that's a requirement for entry

Re: Letter 3T1L - Mary Renault book letters

[(Anonymous)]

Their treatise on slash is hilarious and would be a great way to convince me to write gen for those requested characters if we matched.

Re: Letter 3T1L - Mary Renault book letters

[(Anonymous)]

However the essential thing is that the bottom/sub be older than the top/dom and physically smaller/shorter and weaker (yes, this includes dick size). The one exception is if the top has been shrunk or is a child (and will eventually grow bigger). The sub/bottom can be as feminine or masculine as you like, but the top/Dom must be masculine and not effeminate. Also, if hair/skin colour is mentioned, the top/Dom MUST be lighter than (or at least the same as) the sub/bottom. Facial hair (apart from light stubble) or heavy body hair on either partner is a no-no.

I thought it wasn't going to be that bad but wow. Wow! Wow.

Re: Letter 3T1L - Mary Renault book letters

[(Anonymous)]

Can I also point out:

"foot fetish, armpit kink or any very specific fetish I'm not into (I'm sure there's a lot of fetishes out there I haven't heard of, so if in doubt, err on the side of caution, maybe? Just nothing too bizarre, please. You can always ask if you're not sure--I'm sure there's kinks out there I haven't heard of which I would very much like!)"

Does this tick the "Just ask me if you have any questions" bingo square?

Also... I'm not into feet, but that's hardly a bizarre fetish, that's like, the definition of fetish it's so common.

Re: Letter 3T1L - Mary Renault book letters

[(Anonymous)]

It's full of perfectly fine stuff like this, which I think offsets the more questionable bits:

"Now, as you can no doubt tell from the request, I am one of those extremely rare birds who ships Laurie/Andrew as my exclusive OTP. First off, if you don't like Andrew/ Laurie as a pairing, please don't force yourself to write it. I will be perfectly content with gen :) Similarly, while I do enjoy my smut, I will be quite happy with something preslashy/PG-rated."

But for some reason, between the phrasing and the formatting, I too find I have a headache. And I love long letters normally! It does have some cuts in the dateview version though, so that's a plus.

Re: Letter 3T1L - Mary Renault book letters

[(Anonymous)]

I mean, is anyone surprised that someone whose handle references C.S. Lewis is a raging bigot? The only shock to me is that they're into kinky slash, instead of being the usual uptight gen homophobe.

Also, "Miss Renault." Repeatedly. LOL

Re: Letter 3T1L - KJ Charles

[(Anonymous)]

https://embossedsilver.livejournal.com/704917.html

https://southerncontinentskies.dreamwidth.org/17149.html

https://torakowalski.dreamwidth.org/332829.html

https://azurewaxwing.dreamwidth.org/457.html

Re: Letter 3T1L - KJ Charles

[(Anonymous)]

Embossedsilver: readable, has likes and dislikes, short but workable. The huge disparity in prompt length, with one fandom clearly preferred, is not ideal. No AO3 name listed. 2/5

Southerncontinentskies: useful likes and dislikes, good level of enthusiasm, nice range of prompts. Has one section that's very short but explains it well. Could be easier to navigate. 4/5

Torakowalski: very short, functional but bare bones. 2.5/5

Azurewaxwing: good list of likes and dislikes. Navigable. Why bullet points only in one of the sections? 3.5/5

Re: Letter 3T1L – Star Wars subfandoms

[(Anonymous)]

https://ceruleantactician.dreamwidth.org/2999.html
https://ermingarden.dreamwidth.org/31606.html
https://shihadchick.dreamwidth.org/1626272.html
https://weakinteraction.dreamwidth.org/18449.html

Re: Letter 3T1L – Star Wars subfandoms

[(Anonymous)]

1. On-point formatting! I think I get that bingo square. I like your prompts, it's enough to get a good idea of what you'd like.

2. Generally good, but wow it's pretty obvious which part of the letter got the least thought. I doubt I'd pick up the Star Wars prompt for a treat or pinch but if I matched on it, it'd be fine.

3. I like the general likes section. Formatting-wise, it's really hard to scan down, it wouldn't hurt to have some bolding or header tags or different spacing or something.

Also if you really do want the female pilots most, you might want to Wedge and Wes off your signup. It's not OR matching, it's AND, and I doubt you'll match any offers other than ANY with that set of four.

4. More great formatting! I like the likes section. The fandom specific prompt is fine, though it's basically just saying you want something like canon (which is fine if that's what you want! If you want anything else it could use some punching up.)

Re: Letter 3T1L – Star Wars subfandoms

[(Anonymous)]

Canon-blind review:

ceruleantactician: Nicely formatted, I appreciate the jumplinks that go both up and down, and the letter is very reasonable all around. 4/5

ermingarden: Please include AO3 name! I appreciate the DNW clarifications. Letter is enthusiastic and happy, though as a writer I'd probably be even happier with slightly more content, but that's just for inspiration's sake. 3.5/5

shihadchick: initial impression was just not enough formatting. I don't need fancy headings or jumps, but a little more bold/underline would be helpful. Italics don't stand out as much to me personally. Or use the horizontal rules to split fandoms instead of sort of just at the top and bottom maybe. AO3 name, please! The "Summary" sections are clearly unfinished, too. Not sure how I feel about the enthusiastic Any request and clearly understanding what that entails but then the pretty bald "I would prefer fic focusing on the women pilots this year." Honesty is great and we all have our preferences, but if I were offering a non-woman pilot I'd probably be a bit D:. Disguise the enthusiasm in the prompts or choose female characters and give an OR out, maybe? 2.5/5

weakinteraction: ODAO out is nice to have top and centre, lots of meaty prompts and general likes, what's not to like. Star Wars prompt in specific is a little light on specific prompts, but I can jam that sometimes you only know the vague shape of what you want, and there are certainly more details in the linked letter. 4/5

Re: Letter 3T1L - Ted Lasso

[(Anonymous)]

https://finkpishnets.dreamwidth.org/587772.html

https://christycorr.dreamwidth.org/122112.html

https://sonni89.dreamwidth.org/289214.html

https://themardia.tumblr.com/post/665243819108925440/yuletide-letter

Re: Letter 3T1L - Ted Lasso

[(Anonymous)]

finkpishnets: small letter with just a generic list of likes, but hey, it exists. 2.5/5

christycorr: requester knows what they want, but manages to give a gen out without making it feel forced. hooray! good formatting, useful links, very nice overall

sonni89: ao3 name being riiiiight at the bottom is a little unintuitive for me. that said, formatting's good (though where the Mega Indent comes from I have no idea) and the ENTHUSIASM!!! is there alongside a nice list of prompts.

themardia: initially afraid of tumblr link, but one of the most readable tumblrs i've ever been on. no ao3 name D: OR out clearly stated, so that's good, and meaty prompts for each of the pairings they put out there. depending on who i was offering i might feel more or less excited by the combinations presented, but not a canon i know so i can't say more.

Re: Letter 3T1L - Disney Animated Villains

[(Anonymous)]

https://tarlanx.dreamwidth.org/1217682.html - Aladdin, Jafar
https://theflirtmeister.tumblr.com/post/665239907703341056/dear-yuletide-writer - Coco, Ernesto de la Cruz
https://blurble.dreamwidth.org/666.html - Emperor's New Groove, Yzma and Kronk
https://chokolattejedi.dreamwidth.org/10172.html - Hercules, Hades

Re: Letter 3T1L - Disney Animated Villains

[(Anonymous)]

For the record I'm using the mobile letter links from the app because I'm not out here to deal with horrible themes and colour schemes. If these letters look like shit that's their business.

Tarlan
🚩 Starts off letter with an apology (why) for letter length (what) and the letter isn't even that long (sigh)
🚩 Looks like they tried to sneak in extra fandoms in the first version of their letter.
☑️ Beautifully clear & simple formatting of the username info at the top, everyone please just copy this.
☑️ Concise but open prompts. I could work with their likes.

The whole YES PLEASE / NO THANKS for likes/dislikes is cute, but if there's a MUST HAVE like there is here then just put it at the top of the yes list, don't fuck around.

Are they requesting Old Guard actors in other roles and asking for crossovers in the hopes of getting an Old Guard fic? I've never seen it, but I wondered why Tarlan was fine with a crossover with any of the actors' other characters and that's the film they have in common.

Blurble
☑️ AO3 username.
☑️ Great general formatting.

Solid letter. I have no notes.

If this is the coalie who was promoting Last Scenario a while ago then I want you to know that I gave it a go on my phone but the controls were so ass I had to quit. I appreciate that it actually works, unlike other games from that era made with those tools, but no one has time for a 4:3 rpg with overlaid directional buttons and no touch menus, c'mon son. I will probably check out the LP though.

theflirtmeister
🚩 "As you can see from my Ao3 page-" does not link AO3 page or username.
🚩 I might just be tired but I read that Coco prompt 3 times and I don't get it.
☑️ Simple DNWs.

Low effort, haphazard. Not impossible to work with, but gives you very few options. Overall, a typical tumblr letter.

chokolattejedi
☑️ AO3 username.
☑️ Clear OR outs.
☑️ Includes mini-challenges.
🚩 A paragraph from the Are You being Served section is copied into the Hercules section

Maybe the missing paragraph has the explanation for it, but the write-up for Disney's Hades seems more interested in the unfair treatment of Greek Myth Hades. Aside from that, one other request does get all ranty, but the vast majority of the letter is enthusiastic and detailed without being too overwhelming. Good shit.

Re: Letter 3T1L

[(Anonymous)]

The Locked Tomb:

https://lunabee34.dreamwidth.org/723632.html

https://alzatrask.dreamwidth.org/402.html

https://vvitchsdesire.dreamwidth.org/53213.html

https://celaenos.dreamwidth.org/6967.html

Re: Letter 3T1L - The Locked Tomb Series

[(Anonymous)]

SA, forgot to put fandom in the title

Re: Letter 3T1L - The Locked Tomb Series

[(Anonymous)]

lunabee34
🚩 No AO3 username
☑️ Carte blanche

lunabee34, the absolutely fearless chad, really said, "here's a blank cheque, buy yourself something nice."

The explainer paragraph on what write the story of your heart means seems unnecessary to me, but I get that some people really need the clarification or else they stress about it.

This is either a very good or very bad letter depending on what kind of Yuletide participant you are. I think it's cool, but I know that I wouldn't write the fic of my heart, I'd write the tropiest thing imaginable for the biggest pairing, 'cuz if I can't get the validation buzz out of writing the perfect customized gift then I'm gonna go fishing for big numbers.

alzatrask
🚩 No AO3 username
☑️ No chat, all prompts

The lack of likes/dislikes makes this a bookmark-to-treat kind of letter. I get the vibe that they have relatively no baggage so you can write them anything and they'll be happy about it.

I can see why they went for individual fandom DNWs in a lean letter like this but shit like "I can't think of any specific DNWs for these 3" then asking in a roundabout way for no underage -- it's so strange to me. That's a specific DNW, just say you DNW it.

Some formatting tags are broken (br /), but it doesn't affect anything. Pretty good for a newbie.

vvitchsdesire/Marenke
🚩 wildly Inconsistent capitalization
☑️ AO3 name
☑️ Clear OR outs

I was gonna give them props for writing prompts for every possible character combo, even if their prompts are phrased in somewhat irritating ways, and then I got to the Plantagenet Dynasty section. jfc. Tell me you don't give a shit about a fandom, without telling me you don't give a shit. "anything does."

I'll be real with you, I'm really not a fan of this !!!! style of letter, but I don't want to Scrooge on someone's excitement. I do think they got the important stuff right.

Also, please, if one of your fandoms is an obscure Tumblr post or 5MF then there's no excuse not to link to it in your letter. Links are free.

celaenos
🚩 No AO3 username
🚩 more wildly Inconsistent capitalization
☑️ Enthusiastic
??? "Caveat: I like Christmas!!"

I'm not gonna go after all the typos here because I feel like celaenos loaded up on six cases of extra festive nog before dictating this letter into an uncalibrated text app. That's the only way I can accept this frustrating combo of nicely formatted bullet-points and the stream-of-consciousness walls of text.

The Moon section is the strongest for me, it's fun, hype, with specific ideas that are open to creative interpretation. On the flipside, I simply ain't reading that Picnic and Hanging Rock section until it learns how to paragraph.

celaenos is happy to provide a lot of information, happy to be stalked across social, happy to tell you everything they love, but I just don't think any of that is very useful. Some ruthless editing and really refining what they want would go a long way.

Re: Letter 3T1L - classic kidlit

[(Anonymous)]

https://sarajayechan.dreamwidth.org/2811384.html

https://reflectedeve.dreamwidth.org/157976.html

https://lebibish.tumblr.com/post/665153595679866880/dear-yuletide-author-for-2021

https://serephemeral.dreamwidth.org/2944.html

Re: Letter 3T1L - classic kidlit

[(Anonymous)]

sarajayechan
Content: I like the mini-prompts – potential jumping-off points for fic, and gives a good idea of what the recip likes overall. 4/5

Formatting: I'd prefer the likes and DNWs to be condensed into comma-separated rather than bulleted lists; they're kind of overwhelming. Not sure why "DNWs" and "squicks" are separate lists? I'm reading it as interpreting "squicks" to mean "specifically sexual DNWs," but it's a little confusing. 3/5

Overall rating: 3.5/5, I'd be happy to get this letter as a writer.

reflectedeve
Content: Love the discussions of what the recip likes about each canon, plus the prompts. Personal and chatty tone without rambling. 5/5

Formatting: Great! Probably because the general likes and DNWs lists are shorter than in sarajayechan's letter, I don't find the bulleted format overwhelming. 5/5

Overall rating: 5/5, absolutely exemplary. (BRB, gotta go edit my own letter now!)

lebibish
Content: Again, I like the discussion of why the recip likes these fandoms, as well as the mini-prompts. 4/5

Formatting: Okay, immediate disadvantage – sorry! – for being a Tumblr letter: it's just so narrow! The symbol for the bulleted lists also looks confusingly like a lowercase "o", which keeps catching me off guard, but idk how much control you have over formatting specifics on Tumblr. Otherwise okay, though you really don't have to write ODAO at the start of every fandom. 3/5

Overall rating: 3.5/5

serephemeral
Content: I like how clear the DNW exceptions are – big help for situations where something would feel difficult to exclude entirely without going AU in a big way. I like how much the recip's personality comes through, and how fun the prompts are – the perfect level of detail, in my opinion.
Also, I adore literally all of the Oz prompts – if I had my Oz books with me (as opposed to across the country in my baby sister's bedroom) I'd be changing my offers this minute. 5/5

Formatting: Buddy, your bulleted lists are screwed up in a big way, and it's driving me slightly nuts. On the plus side, excellent use of bold/italics and varying font size! 3.5/5 (Sorry, can't get over those lists.)

Overall rating: 4.25/5

Re: Letter 3T1L - Old SciFi Series

[(Anonymous)]

https://rodo.dreamwidth.org/121451.html

https://astrogirl.dreamwidth.org/1013960.html

https://autumnsbride.dreamwidth.org/268.html

https://athaia.dreamwidth.org/46739.html